This little piggy went to market. And this little piggy stayed home. This little piggy had smoked salmon. And this little piggy had none.
This is how we say the nursery rhyme in our house. Always have. Because for our family, smoked salmon from THE Fish Guys (and now a Fish Gal too) is where it’s at. Every Friday during market season, May through September, Little Bird and I make our way to the farmers market. In the three years I’ve taken her, she’s gone from stroller to standing, from sampling the wares to helping sell them (in her own pint-sized fashion). The Madrona Farmers Market is the high point in our week…especially because of her fan club.
First there’s our beloved Fish Guys plus one Fish Gal. Oh Wilson Fish, what would we do without you? Every week you fill our bellies with fish and our warm our hearts.
Let’s go see The Fish Guys, Mama. My excited is what I hear Friday afternoons all summer long. And I’m sad, Mama. No more Fish Guys. I miss the Fish Guys, is her mournful refrain each Friday when the market closes for the season.
Two years ago, she missed them so much, she insisted they were living in our fan all winter long. The Fish Guys are in the fan, she’d state matter-of-factly. This year she wanted to bring them a few gifts to end the season, a few drawings and–appropriately–made a lovely fish out of clay with rainbow scales.
Then there’s Rand of One Leaf Farm. Is Rand going to be there this week, Mama? If not, I don’t want to go, is what she told me several weeks running when I tried to explain that her buddy Rand needed to be doing what farmers do on the farm rather than at the market. This year she started helping Rand take in money from a customer and put it in the cash box. She made a few pennies for her “work” and is fascinated by the process.
I love watching her flit from market stand to market stand with spirited enjoyment. It’s fun observe her curiosity about “how things work” whether it’s putting ice under the fish to keep them fresh or exchanging money so we can bring home a bag of beans. But I feel the greatest pride in the relationships she’s built with the people who grow, catch, and make the food we eat. It doesn’t get any more local than that.
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Take the road less traveled, Beth
“The Fish Guys are up in the fan,” Baby Bird stated matter-of-factly a month or so ago, at dinner.
“What?!”
After she’s chowed down as much salmon as they’ll allow her to take (yes, she frequently cleans out the Tupperware container), we move on to the ice holding portion of the visit. This is where she takes out a large chunk of ice from the cooler, licks it and then watches it melt in her hand (or mine when she hands it to me to “take home to Dada”). She’ll exclaim “BRR! Cold,” while holding shaking her fists like she’s freezing (or very excited).
The Fish Guys laugh and play along, joking and laughing with her. I always have a smile on my face because I love knowing my daughter is forming happy memories of being at the farmers market, just like I did as a child. She gets to eat veggies and fruit straight off the farm, and get to know the growers (and fishermen) who make it possible for us to enjoy delicious fresh food.
Seeing The Fish Guys is the high point in our week, which is why I was sad that our neighborhood farmers market season came to a close. How could I explain to Baby Bird that we might not see The Fish Guys for several months, at least at the Madrona Farmers Market. I told her that we could make occasional treks to the Sunday 
On this last visit, we brought The Fish Guys a thank you fish card, and I purchased my “usual,” a pound of fresh salmon to grill, along with wine and maple smoked salmon which we sprinkle on salads and toss in omelets. We never cease to be amazed at the deliciousness of their fish. It is the freshest, tastiest, melt-in-your-mouth fish I’ve ever had, absolutely worth the couple extra dollars per pound I might save if I bough fish at my neighborhood grocery store. It truly is that good.
Plus, we get to spend a few minutes with the fish guys. And that is priceless. Now if we could just figure out what they’re doing in our fan!